


The First Amendment

by chelome



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bucky works at a coffee shop, First Meetings, Homophobia, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, gay slur, modern day AU, steven grant rogers has no time for your homophobic bs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-05-30 09:56:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6419221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelome/pseuds/chelome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A group of anti-gay protesters moves in to the park across from Bucky's work and he is just about at the end of his rope when a certain cute blonde arrives on the scene to exercise his own right to free speech.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1: The Battle Begins

**Author's Note:**

> just a small fluff piece I'm working on as a bit of stress relief from school. let me know what you think! kudos and comments make my heart soar <3

Bucky rubbed at his eye groggily as he shuffled down the street feeling weighed down by bone deep exhaustion. He’d been up all night scrambling to finish his midterm and now he had to pull a double shift on a Friday of all days. So he really was not in the most chipper of moods to start with and when he rounded the corner to get to the small local coffee shop he worked at, his head almost exploded. Bucky clenched his jaw and balled his hands up into fists as he fought to contain the boiling rage that consumed him when he took in the sight of the protesters across the street. 

The fucking scumbags had set up shop at the park across from the coffee shop a few days ago and Bucky kept hoping that the assholes would just give up and leave already but no, of course not. There they were yet again with their bright red signs proclaiming things like “GOD HATES FAGS” and “DEATH TO HOMOSEXUALS” and shouting their disgusting hate filled messages at people walking by. They made Bucky absolutely sick. His manager had tried to get them removed but apparently they were on public property and there was nothing anybody could do. 

Putting his head down, he rushed into the coffee shop and did his best to ignore their bullshit.

…

Finally, half way done with his shift, Bucky hung up his apron and headed out to the sandwich place down the shop for his lunch break. Greeted by the angry yelling, Bucky glanced across the street and couldn’t help but crack a huge grin at what he saw. 

The hate brigade was still up to their usual antics but now they weren’t alone. Standing right next to them was a skinny blonde guy wearing a pride flag like a cape and holding a huge sign that read “GOD=LOVE NOT HATE” in bright colors. A lot of their curses were now directed at him but he didn’t seem to mind one bit. He just stood there determinedly holding his homemade sign up high. 

As he sat on the curb and ate his sandwich, Bucky couldn’t help but watch the events across the street and the more he watched the more respect he felt for the small blonde. 

For the past couple of days, unlucky passersby had been subject to a whole slew of verbal assaults and, just like Bucky had this morning, they would duck their heads and hurry past to get out of the line of fire. Bucky could take their bigoted shit but his gut always twisted when he thought about how many people walking by maybe weren’t as comfortable with themselves and their identities and how much this shit may be hurting them. 

But today was a different story. Today, when the protestors began to target some poor soul, the tiny gay crusader would rush forward to walk next to them. He would talk loudly in his surprisingly deep voice about the weather, how much he liked their outfit, and any other pleasantries to try and drown out those scumbags. Then he’d always send them off by shouting, “IGNORE THESE ASSHOLES AND HAVE A NICE DAY!” 

Bucky felt his heart soar a bit when he noticed that the people would actually walk by with their heads up when he accompanied them and some would even smile before going on their way. His lunch break finally up, Bucky headed back into the shop feeling a lot better about his day knowing that there were people like this guy around.


	2. Day 2: Send in the Reinforcements

The next morning, Bucky had opening shift and as he was setting up the tables he saw the protestors move in to their usual territory. There was a bit less of them today but Bucky groaned when he saw one of them carrying a megaphone. 

“What?” asked his coworker Meg. Bucky gestured towards the window and then went back to unstacking chairs. Meg moved out from behind the register to look.

“Fucking hell,” she said. “Today is going to be… OH MY GOD.”

Bucky plopped the last chair down and rushed back towards the window, “What is it now?”

Meg pointed and started laughing. There, strolling down the street towards the protestors was the blonde from yesterday except today he stepped it up a notch. The pride flag was still tied around his neck but today he completed the look with a pair of bright red skinny jeans and a sparkly rainbow vest over his blue shirt. He pulled up right next to the homophobic douchebags and began unloading the little wagon he had dragged behind him. He pulled out at least a dozen signs that he began propping up all around him. Some of Bucky’s favorites included: a remarkably well drawn depiction of Jesus face palming and saying “Guys, I said I hate figs,” a sign reading “Jesus had 2 dads and he turned out fine,” and one saying in rainbow colored letters “If God hates gays why did he make us so cute?”

Finally, he pulled out the most massive boom box Bucky had ever seen. He didn’t even know people still had those things anymore. Bucky chuckled and shook his head, “Today is going to be fun.”

Bucky was right and when he finished up his shift and headed out the front door he was greeted by a cacophony of sound. A burly man who appeared to be the leader of this little anti-gay movement stood on a water cooler. He held his fiery picket sign up high and with a bright red face to match he shouted into his megaphone. But his cries were only a muffled murmur under the sound of “YMCA” by the Village People blaring from the blonde’s boom box. 

And it’s looking like the blonde with the pride flag had started a little following of his own. Five other people had joined him, some dressed as outrageously as him in bright colors, some dancing to the music, and all of them holding signs. The blonde himself kept up his self-appointed task of walking with anybody unfortunate enough to have to pass in front of the large red-faced man and his posse. 

Bucky ducked back inside the shop. He made up six coffees to go and headed back outside. Carefully balancing the cardboard cups, Bucky hurried across the street towards the spectacle. Grinning, he began passing out coffees to the little band and they thanked him with huge smiles. He almost relished the looks of anger and disgust he was getting from the assholes next door. 

The caped hero himself was busy escorting some people on the side walk so Bucky left his coffee on top of the boom box before taking off to go meet up with his study group at the library. 

…

The sun was just starting to set when Bucky rounded the corner to the coffee shop. His coworker Elliot had called him frantically just a little while ago begging him to take the last few hours of his shift and close up so that he could make it to this concert his buddy scored tickets too. Bucky, always desperate for some extra cash, agreed. 

Checking out the park, he could see that everybody had pretty much called it a day and headed home. The only one left was the blonde who stood alone picking up trash and packing up all his gear back into the wagon. The rainbow cape and sparkly vest sadly stowed for the day. 

An idea suddenly occurring to him, Bucky ran into the coffee shop. When he entered, Elliot immediately jumped up from behind the counter and darted towards the door. 

“Thanks so much man ! I owe you one,” he called out as he rushed outside. 

The shop was closed for the night so Bucky was the only person in the joint. All that Bucky had to do was clean and then lock the place up when he left. Taking a second to lock the register, Bucky then walked back outside and across the street to the park. 

“Hey,” he called out to the blonde wrangling his posters into a rather precarious looking pile. 

The blonde looked up at him and Bucky was immediately struck by those bright blue eyes. He felt his heart stutter for a moment. 

Suddenly feeling a little awkward, Bucky stuck out his hand, “Umm hi, I’m Bucky. I work at the coffee shop across the street.” 

The man beamed and his whole face seemed to light up with the expression. He reached out and took Bucky’s hand, “Nice to officially meet the coffee fairy. I’m Steve.”

Bucky stared a moment, still pretty spellbound by that sunshine smile. He quickly shook himself out of it and let go of that surprisingly firm grip.

“We have a pretty big storage room if you want to keep all your stuff there tonight,” Bucky said gesturing back to the shop.

Steve’s eyebrows shot up, “Really? That would be great!”

Bucky lead him back across the street and into the tiny shop. He opened up the storage room door and let Steve wheel his little red wagon in. Everything safely stored, Bucky began locking it up behind him, “I’ll call my manager and let them know this is here so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting it back if you come tomorrow.”

“Oh I’ll definitely be back tomorrow,” Steve answered.

Bucky smiled and found himself staring at the sharp line of Steve’s jaw as he set it determinedly looking very much like he was willing to fight anyone and anybody if need be. 

Clearing his throat, Bucky tore his eyes back up to Steve’s own, “So hey do you want anything? I know we have some day old muffins which actually aren’t half bad if you soak them in coffee first.”

Steve chuckled, “Some tea would be great actually.”

“Coming right up.” 

Bucky grabbed them both a couple of cups of earl grey and even managed to find some croissants that were only slightly stale. He pulled down a couple of stacked up chairs and set the cups down at a small table. Steve sat down next to him with a smile. 

With Steve staring down at his tea, Bucky could only just make out the blush rising on Steve’s cheeks, “So thanks again for letting me keep my stuff here. That’s really nice of you.”

Bucky grinned as he fiddled with his own cup, “Trust me it’s nothing. Besides, it’s me that should be thanking you. I think it is a really great thing that you’ve been doing here.”

Bucky couldn’t help but feel a sudden swell of affection when that same fiery determined look returned to Steve’s face, “I just can’t stand people like those jerks. I had to deal with plenty of assholes like them back when I was figuring stuff out and I don’t want anybody else to think for a second that these bullies are the norm. People need to know that there are others out there like them and there are people who will love and accept them just the way they are.”

Bucky reached out and clasped his shoulder, “Well hey, I know someone like you would have meant a world of difference to someone like me when I was first coming out so thanks again for that.”

Those stunning blue eyes met his and Bucky felt his stomach flip. Steve looked back at his tea, that telltale blush returning to his cheeks. Bucky watched the scrawny fearless blonde awkwardly sip his tea and he knew he was a goner. This punk was going to cause him all sorts of trouble.


	3. Day 3: The Final Showdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here have some fluff before we get our hearts ripped out by civil war

After sleepily fiddling with the lock for way too long, Bucky finally shoved the door open and stumbled into his tiny apartment. His roommate, Natasha, looked up from the coach to smirk at him.

“Somebody’s home late,” she said as she lifted her glass of wine to toast him. 

Bucky rolled his eyes because of course she’d still be up and ready to judge him at 2 am. He plopped down next to her on the couch and grabbed her glass to steal a swig. 

Nat poked him with her toe, “I thought you were just going to close up shop. What happened?”

As tired as he was, Bucky couldn’t help but keep the grin off of his face, “Well you know the guy I was telling you about yesterday?”

Nat sat up eagerly, “No way. Did you bang the gay superhero?”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “Not everything is about sex, Nat. I’ll have you know that in this age of hook up culture it is so refreshing to…”

Nat raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at him, “So you didn’t bone him?”

Bucky groaned and let his head fall back onto the coach, “No,” he whined.  
He then proceeded to fill his best friend in on the happenings of the evening. Told her about the boombox and letting Steve keep his stuff at the shop and how they spent hours just sitting at that table and talking.

Bucky really couldn’t remember the last time it was just so effortless to talk to someone he only just met. They talked about their friends and roommates, about embarrassing drunken mishaps, about their dreams for the future, about anything and everything. Bucky learned that Steve was an art student hoping to become a comic book artist. He learned that they were both in their junior year and that that’d both suffered through the same monotonous Intro to Lit professor freshman year. Bucky just couldn’t believe how comfortable he felt around Steve and how with everything he learned about him he wanted to know more. There was a beautiful quiet moment when Steve told Bucky about growing up an only child and losing his mom the summer before he started college. Then, Bucky found himself opening up about what it was like growing up as an army brat and how going to school was the first time he felt like he had a home. 

Bucky was shocked at the flood of information and memories that had been coming out of his mouth that night. He told Steve stuff that he hadn’t even managed to express to Nat yet. Bucky had always been excellent at building up walls and keeping people at a distance but there was just something about Steve that made those walls crumble to pieces. 

Nat chuckled, “Wow, James, I don’t think I have ever seen you this gone before.”

Bucky glared at her. 

“I’m still confused though,” she continued. “Why on earth did you not take this boy home with you?”

Bucky groaned, “His roommate called like an hour ago for help because he locked himself out of their apartment.”

“Well did you at least get his number?” she asked.

“Of course I got his number,” Bucky sniped back. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“Good,” she said as she leaned forward to snatch back her wine. Nat took a lazy slip as she nestled back into the coach and fixed him with her little smirk of approval. “I think you may have finally found yourself a good one. Even Clint is in love with the guy.”

“Clint? How the hell does he know Steve?” Bucky asked confused by what possible connection could exist between Steve and Nat’s boyfriend. 

“Well he and all the rest of the trainers are completely obsessed with Steve,” Nat explained as she tucked a stray red curl back behind her ear.  
Bucky shook his head not believing that he forgot Clint worked at a gym just down the street from the coffee shop, “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” she replied. “He told me that they were just about to beat up those asshole protestors until Steve came along. Apparently the douche bags had been upsetting a lot of their clients and one of the trainers had even stopped going to work.” 

Bucky grimaced wondering how many other people and businesses those jerks had upset with their hate… 

Bucky suddenly bolted to his feet an idea coming to him.

“What the fuck,” Nat cursed, startled by his sudden movement. 

Bucky turned and rushed down the hallway to his bedroom. 

“You better get to power napping, Nat,” he called out to her, “because we’ve got a lot to do.”

…

The sun was bright and shining by the time they approached Main Street and even though he was currently running off of two hours of sleep, Bucky was so wired that he didn’t even care. Nat, on the other hand, took one hand off of the steering wheel to gulp down some more of her coffee. 

Then, as they pulled into a little parking lot a block away from the coffee shop, she grumbled, “You owe me big time, Barnes.”

Bucky owed a lot of people big time. He had to call in a lot of favors today to make his idea work. But work it did. 

“Cheer up, babe,” Clint piped up from the back seat. “Just think about how great it is going to be to see the looks on their faces.”

As they hopped out of the car, Bucky began going over a check list on his phone, “Alright so Bobby and some other members from his club should be here soon with the rest of the posters, the farmer’s market starts at 11 so I’m betting that’s when are awful friends are going to want to show up if they want to draw a crowd, Subs-n-Grub is going to hand out free samples all afternoon, Tony pulled some strings and said he could get some of the marching band to swing by around noon… Oh! Clint, did your boss get back to you?” 

He nodded, “Yeah! He said we could use the speakers. We don’t have any Zumba classes today anyway.”

“Awesome!” Bucky said tucking away his phone. “Let’s get to it then.”

They split up, each taking an armful of brightly painted posters, and began going door to door to all of the shops on Main Street. Bucky had actually been really surprised when he started calling local businesses this morning. He never could have dreamed that the community would be so open and supportive. Nearly every last one of them had been happy to help. 

It took them nearly an hour and a half to finally reach Bucky’s coffee shop at the end of the block. When Bucky looked back up the street, he felt a swell of pride to see every store front bearing a rainbow colored poster with the words “We Proudly Support Love” written in huge bold lettering. 

Collapsing down at a little patio table with Nat, he couldn’t keep the grin off of his face. Nat just smiled back and grabbed his hand as they took in the scene around them. The sky was a bright clear blue and the sun was just nearing its peak on this gorgeous day. Across the street, Bobby and the rest of his LGBTQ campus club had arrived in mass. They’d unpacked Steve’s things from the coffee shop and had set up camp in the park. There must have been at least 50 or 60 of them and if Steve himself was there, Bucky couldn’t be sure because he’d be lost in a sea of brightly colored and outrageous outfits. 

The disgusting scum bags had set up in their usual spot as well. Bucky was a little disappointed that he didn’t get to see the initial moment of shock and awe but the looks on their faces now was almost enough to make up for it. The little band of hate mongers looked like they were all about to spontaneously combust. Even from here, Bucky could see veins straining and spit flying as they all screamed and shouted. But Bucky couldn’t hear a single word over the music and the cheering and the people bustling. 

Tons of people milled along the street, heading to the farmer’s market and enjoying the beautiful spring day. A bunch gathered to take pictures with the brightly clad and friendly sign holders. Some others hurried over to grab free sandwiches from across the street. Clint and a few of his fellow trainers gathered their own little crowd as they danced on the sidewalk in colorful outfits next to their blaring speakers and handed out rainbow colored promo flyers.

“James,” Nat said to get his attention.

Turning back to her, he followed his gaze to where she was pointing. There, hosted up on somebody’s shoulders, was Steve. He was wearing the same sequined vest from yesterday and his rainbow cape gracefully fluttered in the wind. He held his sign up high and he smiled so blindingly bright that Bucky couldn’t tear his gaze away. 

Nat let go of his hand, “Go get him tiger.” 

Bucky darted up but before he could even reach the sidewalk, loud pounding drums forced him to finally look away from Steve. Rounding the corner came at least half of the schools marching band. They were free of their usual stuffy uniforms and instead they were all decked out in bright colors. The drum major lead them down the street as he waved a massive rainbow flag. The pounding percussion and blowing horns filled the entire air with music and life. Bucky felt like a little kid again seeing his first parade. 

As the procession moved down the street, they were met with huge cheers from the gathered crowds and Bucky was once again overwhelmed by the demonstration of community. Here were people coming together to drown out hate with love and joy and support. 

Once the band passed, Bucky remembered his original intent and fought his way through the crowd and over to the park. He noticed that the angry protestors were now only down to three determined individuals, the rest had already deserted the cause. Steve was no longer hoisted up above the ground so he was trying to catch a glimpse of the small blonde amidst the mass of moving bodies when a hand tapped his shoulder. 

Spinning around, Bucky was a little disappointed to be met with a grinning Tony Stark. 

“Barnes!” he said. “That was amazing. How great are we?”

Tony held up a hand and Bucky gave him a high five. 

“Thanks so much, Tony,” Bucky said. “That was perfect.”

“I don’t usually grant people favors when they wake me up at five in the morning with their incessant phone calls but I always make exceptions for a good cause. And what better cause than sticking it to some bigoted assholes?” Tony said clasping Bucky’s shoulder.

“Nothing comes to mind.”

“Oh also,” Tony continued, “nice touch with the signs. I can’t believe you got Old Man Stan to put one up in his book shop though.”

“I was surprised too,” Bucky said with a chuckle, “but apparently Ol’ Stan’s got a daughter who’s currently away on a honeymoon with her new bride.”

“Huh, well what’d ya know,” Tony said before taking off to go meet up with his friends. 

Bucky waved goodbye and then spun around to find Steve hovering right behind him. Bucky’s mouth went dry as he took in the sight of the skinny blonde. Steve stood there awkwardly clutching a poster with the bright sunlight making his hair shine gold and a light flush painting his cheeks. Those blue eyes focused in on him intensely. 

“You did this?” Steve asked sounding a little breathless and amazed. The words were so soft that they could only just be heard above the noise of the crowd. 

Feeling his own cheeks heat up, Bucky rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly, “Ugh… well… I just called a few people…”

Steve dropped his poster and surged forward. Suddenly, Steve’s mouth was on his and Bucky’s heart soared. Bucky’s entire world focused down to the feel of those soft lips on his so when the cheering roar filled his ears he first assumed it was his own thoughts. He came hurtling back to reality though when they got pulled apart and hoisted up by the crowd. The cheers were truly deafening and from his new perch Bucky managed to see the last few jerks throw their hellfire painted signs on the ground and storm away from the park. 

Bucky felt triumphant. He looked over at Steve and saw the same ecstatic grin that he knew covered his own face. Bucky reached out and laced his fingers with Steve’s as he tried to capture every last detail of this infinitely perfect moment. 

…

Years later, when people would come over to their tiny apartment and ask about the “We Proudly Support Love” poster propped up on their mantel. Steve would smile proudly as Bucky launched into one of his favorite stories about coffee, rainbow capes, and little double-edged sword known as the First Amendment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this one :) also thank you guys for all of the kudos/comments!! they mean the world to me


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